I’m back, I’m pregnant, and I’m eating everything in sight. Good thing I know how to bake! I have finally gotten back in the kitchen so I can feed this baby girl all the treats she (I) wants. Thank goodness it’s Fall and pumpkin is back in season. Just kidding! I’ll eat pumpkin pancakes in the sweltering summer heat. In any case, most people save pumpkin for the cooler times of the year. That’s why I decided it is a good time to share THREE of my favorite basic pumpkin recipes.

Pumpkin Pancakes

I am obsessed with pumpkin pancakes. I search for restaurants for the best ones. But the truth is, I like the ones I make best 🙂

Here’s what you will need:

• 1 ¹⁄₄ cups flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ¹⁄₂ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¹⁄₂ teaspoon ginger
• ¹⁄₂ teaspoon nutmeg
• ¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt
• 1 pinch clove
• 1 cup milk (I use almond)
• 6 tablespoons canned pumpkin puree
• 2 tablespoons melted butter
• 1 egg

Now what do you do:

1. Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, spices and salt in a bowl.
2. One at a time whisk together milk, pumpkin, melted butter, and egg in with dry ingredients.
3. Spray a skillet and heat over medium heat: pour in 1/4 cup batter for each pancake.
4. Cook pancakes about 3 minutes per side. Serve with butter and syrup. I topped mine with an apple cinnamon sauce!
5. Makes about six 6-inch pancakes.

Pumpkin Bread

A loaf of this stuff doesn’t last more than a few days in my house. This bread will seriously melt in your mouth and make you wonder where it has been your whole life.

Here’s what you will need:

• 1-2/3 cups flour
• 1-1/2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1/2 cup water

Now what do you do:

1. Preheat oven to 350°
2. Combine first eight ingredients. Whisk together eggs, pumpkin, oil and water; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.
3. Pour into a greased 9×5-in. loaf pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean or about 45 minutes.
4. Cool in pan 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack.
5. Makes 1 loaf (16 slices).

(Drum roll please…) Pumpkin Pie!

There are few things in this world as delicious as pumpkin pie. Being pregnant in the fall means I get to have as muuuuuuuuuuch as I want. Now you can too!

Here’s what you will need:

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 ¼ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 2 large eggs
• 1 can (15 oz.) 100% Pumpkin Puree
• 1 can (12 fl. oz.) Evaporated Milk
• 1 unbaked 9-inch deep-dish pie shell

Side note: I made my own crust and would be happy to share that recipe if you need it!

Now what do you do:

1. Mix sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and salt in small bowl.
2. Beat eggs in large bowl.
3. Stir in pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture. Gradually stir in evaporated milk.
4. Pour into pie shell.
5. Bake in preheated 425° F oven for 15 minutes.
6. Reduce temperature to 350° F; bake for 40 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean.
7. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours.
8. Serve immediately or refrigerate. Top with whipped cream before serving (make your own it is SO WORTH IT).

So there you have it…three amazing staples for this fall season. The best part is, they are so simple you can have them over and over and over and over and over and over and over again 🙂

If you are like me, then being told you can’t eat sweet, sweet carbs for two weeks is like a prison sentence. I have to eat dessert every day. Don’t ask me why, but just trust that you do not want to find out what happens if I can’t. Never fear! There are ways around this no carb/sugar nonsense. While sugar free jello is always a fun choice, I’m over it. Unless we are talking Rainbow Jello. But that is a recipe for another day.

To give you an example of how sugar deprived I am after one week on this diet: Today I drank an Emergen-C (because summer colds are the worst) and it tasted like fairies had dusted my tongue with sweet, tart goodness. After that I knew something had to give. What had I become? We can do better than that people. Say it with me “WE CAN DO… BETTER!”

So I opened my cookbook and found the first dessert that didn’t make me want to cry. I decided to take a risk and make Sugar Free Almond-Jam Bars.

Here’s what you will need:

1 cup nuts, almonds

1/4 cup sugar substitute (I used Stevia in the Raw)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 large egg white

1/4 cup jam, sugar-free (Please see picture for best brand)

Now what do you do?

1. Heat the oven to 375°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment or nonstick spray.
2. In a food processor, process the almonds, sugar substitute, and salt until finely ground. Add the egg white and process until the mixture forms a paste.

   

NOTE: I used a coffee grinder and processed the almonds first, then hand mixed everything together.

 

3. Transfer the dough to the baking sheet and shape into a 12″ x 2″ log. With your thumb, make 1/4″ deep trench down the length of the log. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until lightly golden and set.
4. A few minutes before the log comes out of the oven, in a small saucepan, heat the jam over low heat until melted. Once the log is baked, immediately spoon the jam along the trench.
5. Cool the log on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before cutting into 16 bars, each 1/2″ thick.

The best part about this recipe is my Gluten Free friends can enjoy them as well! I have to be honest, they tasted wayyy (3 “y’s” worthy) better than I thought they would. They were actually pretty addicting. The worst part? I can’t enjoy wine with them right now. So I poured some tea and went to town. I am anxious to try them with different kinds of nuts and jams. They are the perfect tea cookie!

Did I just say the perfect TEA cookie? What has happened to me?

“When the moon hits your eye, like a big pizz…APPLE PIE!” Mmm, warm apple pie. There is just something about it that can make you feel like you are at home anywhere. Some people like to top it with ice cream, others like cool whip. Our Midwest neighbors to the north even like to put cheddar cheese in it. Hey, I’m not judging 😉 …well, maybe a little.

Pie is one of those desserts that people love to eat, but hate to make. For me, I hate to have half a pie just sitting out. It’s messy, I can’t pack it in a lunch or eat it on the go. Yes… some of us want to eat pie on the go! So I came up with the most fun recipe for portable mini apple pies. They are great for kids, lunches, parties, girls night, BBQs, wine night… or every night.

Here’s what you will need:

For the Crust:

2 cups flour

²⁄₃ cup butter (chilled)

1 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons water

For the Filling:

5 medium apples (peeled and chopped up into small pieces) I use any kind I have on hand

³⁄₄ cup sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

6 tablespoons flour

2 tablespoons butter (chilled)

Now what do you do?

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees and grease the muffin tin.

2. In your mixer blend flour, salt and butter until it looks like coarse sand.

3. Add in water and blend just until it looks like it’s sticking.

4. Take out and combine it by hand until well blended.

5. Roll out on lightly floured surface until about 1/4 inch thick.

6. Cut 12, 4 inch circles with cup or bowl. (I used a pint glass)

7. Press each circle in muffin tins until all the way up each side, to form little bowls.

8. Mix by hand all filling ingredients and spoon into muffin bowls.

9. Cut up butter into 12 little pieces and place one piece on each pie.

10. You can decorate them anyway you like with extra crust, or just leave plain. I like to sprinkle sugar on top before they go on the oven.

11. Bake at 425 degrees for 16-18 minutes. (Until crust is light brown and apples are bubbling).

12. When cool, just loosen the sides with a knife and they’ll come right out!

Now you can feel free to top them with anything or nothing at all. Let me know if you try this one out, I would love to hear about it! Looking to pair your dessert with wine? Of course you are! I paired mine with a nice chilled glass of Red Moscato.

First blog post, yay! Thank you so much for visiting and just in time for the weekend. It has been a dream of mine to get this site up and running. Now that we are post wedding and I have my senses about me, I have definitely made it my goal to get back to baking. I intend to have this site to share all of my baking, cooking, crafts and other wild ideas with everyone. So I decided to start with something sweet and simple.

Mmm summertime… sunshine, pool parties and vacations. What better way to celebrate than with Lemon Bars? They are just about the easiest to make and are so delicious. One thing I love about them is that they seem so faaaaaanncy. When you show up to a party with lemon bars, you are everyone’s friend. Maybe you are the one throwing the party? Well honey slap a doily under that bar as you serve it and now you are basically Julia Child.

Here’s what you will need:

For the crust:
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 cups flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
For the filling:
6 large eggs
3 cups granulated sugar
2 tablespoons grated lemon zest
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 cup flour (sift if you can!)
Confectioners’ sugar, to decorate!

Now what do you do?

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Make the crust: With an electric mixer cream the butter and sugar until light in color. Combine the flour and salt in a separate bowl. Then, with the mixer on low, add flour mix to the butter/sugar until just mixed. Dump the dough onto a well-floured board and gather into a ball. Flatten the dough with floured hands and press it into a 9 x13 x 2-inch baking sheet or dish. Make sure all sides are covered. Chill for 10-15 minutes.

3. Bake the crust for 15 to 20 minutes, until very lightly browned. Let cool on a wire rack. Leave the oven on.

4. Make the filling: whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and flour. Pour over the crust and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the filling is set.

5. Let cool to room temperature.

6. Cut into squares and dust with confectioners’ sugar.

Yayyy! Now you are done, so what do you do? Grab some drinks and friends, find a patio and enjoy your creation! Can I come too? I’ll bring the wine!